artist • maker • writer

“Orbras” is a tiny, eight-legged engineer–an orb weaver who builds spiral, wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields and forests. Orbras and his compatriots are social, largely non-aggressive, and seldom bite. In 2009, over 107 million orb weaver spiders were found living in a phenomenally huge web that covered four acres of a Baltimore wastewater plant. Cold assembly: 19th century brass doorknob, vintage jewelry, antique button, wool roving, wire. Dimensions: 9″x9″x3″ $175Read more

Bolo is a red palm weevil or “snout beetle.” This weevil is considered a major pest in palm plantations, but the larval grub is considered a delicacy in Southeast Asian countries. The grubs have been described as creamy tasting when raw, and like bacon or meat when cooked. Cold Assembly: Recycled brass shell casing, antique buttons, eyeglass lenses, automotive fasteners, recycled jewelry, wool roving, wire. Dimensions: 6″x3.5″x5″ $175Read more

A fun re-post from my drawing blog. How many living insects exist in the world on any given day? Scientists estimate somewhere between 1 quintillion (that’s a billion billion) and 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000). With merely 6.8 billion humans on Earth, it seems we’re outnumbered. If you’re like me, you’re having trouble visualizing the those numbers in terms of biomass. As luck would have it, the mathematical heavy lifting has been done, which makes the case for roughly 200 pounds of insects for each pound of human.Read more

Before constructing an insect sculpture, I do a little research and then make drawings (as above), which I can refer to while working. I haven’t yet created a sculpture of this insect, but it’s in the lineup for this summer. The luna moth (Actias luna) is a Saturniid moth, found almost exclusively in North America, where it enjoys its status as one of that region’s largest moths (its wingspan measures up to 114 mm or 4.5”). Following many weeks inRead more

Friday and Saturday, July 28 & 29, Oliver Art Center gallery buzzed with activity as nine Chelsea area artists revealed their latest works for the installation “Bugs, Birds and Beasts.” The show ran through 8 September 2017.Read more

What could be more fun than a swirling cloud of large, hairy insects hanging about in your living space? An eclectic mix of spiders, mosquitoes, beetles and flies—a budding entomologist’s dream! Each insect in this swarm has its own fascinating story, described in the slides below. This piece sold, but new swarms are coming up in 2019! Stay tuned. Cold assembly: found objects, recycled jewelry, wire, fasteners, chandelier crystals, vintage cabinet knobs, acetate, paint. Dimensions: 40″ x 30″ x 30′ $1600Read more

I was thinking about how cool it might be to wear a spider. So I fashioned an ever so lovely pendant from a vintage button, found jewelry, wire and wool. If you’re attending the opening of the Oliver Art Center’s “Birds, Bugs and Beasts” group show on 28 July, you’ll see it in an up close and personal way. Leave your arachnophobia at the door. Read more

The Five-horned Beetle is one of the most elegant of rhinoceros beetles. They are also known as Hercules beetles, unicorn beetles, or horn beetles. There are over 300 described species of these beetles, best known for their bizarre shapes and large size. Cold assembly: vintage wood sock darner, antique drawer pulls, vintage eyeglass temples, antique oil can and wrought iron stake fragment, antique wood and brass vase, feathers, leather buttons, recycled jewelry. Dimensions: 12″x6″x17″ $425Read more